Eustis mobile home park residents wait for word on eviction

Roxanne Brown @DC_SLP_roxbrown

Sunday

Jul 8, 2018 at 8:00 AMJul 12, 2018 at 1:16 PM

EUSTIS — They have been waiting for the hammer to fall.

Residents of Sharp’s Mobile Home Park, a decades-old trailer park in downtown Eustis, have heard that the park is being sold and they will have to leave, either abandoning their homes or trying to move them to a new location.

They have been living a life of uncertainty since March as they wait for official word about whether they are actually being evicted to make way for the Eustis Lake Club — a new lakefront community featuring Key West-style homes being built on the property they currently rent.

“To this day, we have no information about how anything is going to be handled,” said Sharp’s resident Linda Libbey, 70.

It all started when the project was announced by land developer WJ Capital in partnership with Jacob P. Smith Company, the builder, following the approval of their redevelopment plan by Eustis’ Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board.

A potential $1.9 million sale of the park was made known to the public through announcements in the newspaper, on Facebook and more.

“Most of us who are still living here are on the lower pay scale and we can’t afford to move,” Mitchell said. “And this waiting game; it’s akin to elder abuse. Not knowing what’s going to happen to us is causing us mental anguish.”

Osbourne, who has lived at the park for about 10 years, said the problem is most of the homes there are in no condition to be moved because of their age, including hers that was built in the 1960s.

It was something her husband, Donnie, was mostly handling, but now it's on her since his death on May 20.

“He was so sick and so worried about what was going to happen to me and that I’d be put out on the street that I ended up telling him everything had been taken care of; that everything was OK,” Osbourne said through tears. “But really, I still don’t know anything about what’s going on. All I know is that I hate the thought of moving. This is my home and I really don’t want to leave it. It's much more than just a financial burden.”

Libbey said what disappoints her the most is that everyone involved is putting more thought into the money side of the deal than to the situation the residents are being put in. Libbey said she wants the city to not approve the zoning change until the developers agree to abide by the original promises they made to residents at the March meeting.

“I can understand what they want to do, it’s an eyesore, but not at the expense of putting me or all these other residents out on the street,” Libbey said. “It’s just sad because if we were horses or dogs or cats, the whole community would be outraged, but we’re human beings; most of us old human beings just trying to survive and nobody cares.”

According to city officials, the plan is part of a public-private partnership between the developer and the city of Eustis. About $3.3 million in CRA funds have been put up by the city for land improvements, to be paid from future taxes generated by the project for the sake of bringing in more permanent residents to town and beautifying the corner of Bay Street and Lakeshore Drive at Ferran Park where the mobile home park now sits.

In turn, developers vowed to raise the grade on the property to solve standing water issues and bring in amenities that will help economic development in the city. They said the approximately 90 residents, most of whom are snowbirds, would be compensated to the tune of at least $6,000 apiece.

On Friday, however, Jacqueline Husebo, spokeswoman for Husebo Marketing who represents the developer and builder, clarified that the reimbursements would not be coming from the developers themselves, but through a state fund set aside for these kinds of relocations.

Husebo said the entire process is one that is mandated by the state.

“There are guidelines set up by state statute on how this works no matter what side you’re on and they are being following to the tee,” Husebo said.

Husebo said that until the developers and current owner of the park close on the sale, they cannot issue eviction notices to residents.

She said if and when that happens, residents will be given the required six-months notice.

“We anticipate that the sale may be happening sometime in August and eviction notices only occur if the property is sold. It is under contract, but it is not sold,” Husebo said. “Also, this trailer park is in disrepair and it is not safe in many regards and this project, regardless of varying points of view, is a good one. It is of benefit to the majority of residents in the community, but we do understand that these are tenants.”

A representative with the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation in Clearwater, which handles reimbursement of benefits for the state, said the amount of money residents get when there is a land use change to a mobile home park is preset. He said the money comes from a state trust fund established in 2001 that has about $2.1 million in it.

He said if residents plan to abandon their homes, they would receive $1,375 for a single wide or $2,750 for a double wide. If they plan on relocating their mobile home, they would get $3,000 for a single and $6,000 for a double. The owners would also have to pay the state back a percentage of the money and the process takes anywhere from two to four months.

Eustis City Manager Ron Neibert said the project still has one more hurdle by way of a land use change to the property to allow for the buildout of homes.

A vote is set for July 19.

Neibert said if the council votes to move forward, the city has no issue with the way the relocation of residents is being handled.

“That’s an issue that’s totally between the buyers and the residents of the park,” Neibert said. “The Florida law applies, so as long as the developers are abiding by the Florida law, the city has no issues. We don’t enforce it. The state of Florida does. We recognize that it’s part of the process, but it’s not our responsibility to relocate these residents.”

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